Data from: The influence of Late Quaternary climate-change velocity on species endemism

The effects of climate change on biodiversity should depend in part on climate displacement rate (climate-change velocity) and its interaction with species’ capacity to migrate. We estimated Late Quaternary glacial-interglacial climate-change velocity by integrating macroclimatic shifts since the Last Glacial Maximum with topoclimatic gradients. Globally, areas with high velocities were associated with marked absences of small-ranged amphibians, mammals and birds. The association between endemism and velocity was weakest in the highly vagile birds and strongest in the weakly dispersing amphibians, linking dispersal ability to extinction risk due to climate change. High velocity was also associated with low endemism at regional scales, especially in wet and aseasonal regions, where conditions otherwise favor high richness. Overall, we show that low-velocity areas are essential refuges for Earth’s many small-ranged species.

气候变化对生物多样性的影响，在一定程度上取决于气候变化位移速率（climate-change velocity）及其与物种迁徙能力的交互作用。我们通过整合末次盛冰期（Last Glacial Maximum）以来的大气候变迁与地形气候梯度，估算了晚第四纪（Late Quaternary）冰期-间冰期的气候变化位移速率。全球范围内，高位移速率区域往往伴随分布范围狭小的两栖类、哺乳类及鸟类显著缺失的格局。特有性（endemism）与位移速率之间的关联，在迁徙能力极强的鸟类中最弱，而在扩散能力较弱的两栖类中最强，这一关联将物种扩散能力与气候变化引发的灭绝风险联系了起来。在区域尺度上，高位移速率同样与低特有性相关，尤其在原本气候条件适宜物种高丰富度的湿润无季节变化区域更为显著。总体而言，本研究表明，低位移速率区域是地球众多分布范围狭小物种的关键避难所。